Netscape's Work Culture
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THE SETBACK contd...Some employees felt that
AOL was more interested in the Netscape's brand name. An ex-Netscape
executive said, “AOL always turned its nose up at technology – what Netscape
was trying to do. The opportunity AOL had was to make Netscape the
technology arm of AOL. As rich of a resource as Netscape was for technology,
equally notable is at AOL the lack of that resource.
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AOL had a hard time understanding how to best tap into
it.” They felt that AOL had just paid lip service to Netscape's
technology by naming Andreessen its Chief Technology Officer. According
to Rob Enderle, vice president of Giga Information[19], “All Andreessen
got was a corner. All they wanted was Web presence… They got the
[Netscape] name, they just had to figure out how to get rid of the
people.”
AOL's corporate philosophy was also completely different from Netscape
philosophy. Yoffie explained, “...The heart and soul of the Netscape
engineers'culture was to try to change the world through technology,
not to change the world through media.” That difference made many
employees feel that they were working in the wrong place. So most of the
engineers left and Netscape was transformed from a technology to a media
company. |
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Zawinski said, “AOL is about centralization and control
of content. Everything that is good about the Internet, everything that
differentiates it from television, is about empowerment of the individual. I
don't want to be a part of an effort that could result in the elimination of
all that.”
Would Netscape have survived on its own had AOL not bought it in 1998, when
the company was reeling under huge losses? (See Exhibit IV). The
ex-employees of Netscape did not care to answer that question. They only
knew that their old company and its culture had gone forever. An analyst
remarked[20] , “Unfortunately, AOL is a good technology company that doesn't
know what to do with good technology. It's sad what they did to Netscape.”
QUESTIONS FOR DISCUSSION
1. Analyze and describe the culture of Netscape and
comment on its strengths and shared assumptions. How far do you think the
culture contributed to Netscape's success as a leading Internet browser
company?
2. Andreessen's exit from Netscape triggered a mass exodus of software
engineering talent from the company. Did the cultural incompatibility of AOL
and Netscape cause the mass exodus of key persons in a short itme? Were
there any other reasons for this exodus?
3. What could AOL have done to retain Netscape employees? Did AOL miss an
opportunity to make Netscape the technology arm of AOL?
EXHIBIT I - NETSCAPE – CHRONOLOGY OF EVENTS
EXHIBIT II - NETSCAPE TIME
EXHIBIT III - BENEFITS FOR NETSCAPE EMPLOYEES
EXHIBIT IV - NETSCAPE CONSOLIDATED STATEMENT OF OPERATIONS
[19]
Giga Information is a provider of information, analysis and advice for
developments and trends in computing and telecommunications.
[20]
David Cassel, Editor, AOLwatch, an online newsletter.
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